BEREAVED families will have to wait longer before they can lay ashes to rest in a Hyndburn cemetery.

Plans to build a memorial wall and lawn for burying ashes at Great Harwood cemetery have been altered after being considered over-ambitious by prospective developers.

Hyndburn Council's environmental services committee heard three companies invited to submit tenders for the work did not respond.

Two of the firms told town hall chiefs the income from a scheme to allow relatives of the dead to buy plaques for the memorial wall would not pay for the cost of the work.

Councillors heard a number of people had expressed their concerns about the delay in creating a facility.

But officers have also received a 'positive response' from families who were told about the new proposals.

Members approved a more basic design for the memorial wall at the western edge of the cemetery.

The area will include a designated site for the spreading and burial of ashes, with families allowed to buy double plots.

Coun Winifred Frankland said: "A lot of elderly people want somewhere for the ashes of their loved ones and the longer this goes on, the more anxious they are getting."

Head of environmental health Steve Todd said: "We're conscious of this unfortunate delay but there has been a lot of interest from people in Great Harwood who want to use these facilities."

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